Independence Day
by Divachick86
Summary: Worst Independence Day of an eight-year-olds life. If your a Ace/Lizzie fan not recommended! Character deaths. Disastrous Ace/Lizzie!


**Independence Day, my tribute to 4th of July. **

**I will tell you know, I don't support this pairing at all, but this song fit how horrible I feel it could go wrong SO... based on the song Independence Day by Martina Mcbride, I own nothing except my OC's :D  
**

_Independence Day  
_

Julia Vassi watched as the early light of dawn spread across her lawn. Most normal eight-year-olds would be asleep at this time. However, most normal eight-year-olds didn't have parents that screamed at each other to all hours of the night. Hers did, though and she didn't sleep. So instead she sat on her windowsill staring out the window. Her nightgown was hardly wrinkled and her red hair was braided back out of her face. There was a crash and a shout. Then a cry of pain. Julia squeezed her dark brown eyes shut tight, as she pressed the heart-shaped locket in her hand to her chest. There was a moment of silence and the little girl slowly opened her eyes again, that's when she noticed the calender. She wiped her misty eyes as she relized it was the 4th of July. That meant the fair would be in town today.

It was a perfect way to escape, she always felt she was in her parents' way anyhow. She would go to the fair and try to enjoy herself, for she certainly couldn't do it here. So she slid off the window sill and threw on a pair of blue jean shorts and an old t-shirt.

Then she crept down the stairs, careful not to make to much noise for fear of encountering her father's rage. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she found her father in the next room over tipping over a bottle of beer as he mumbled something about wives. He looked quite horrible. His eyes were sunken and blood shot and he was missing chunks of hair, from where he pulled it out constantly. He had a rather large gut now, always covered by beer stained shirts. Julia had heard that as a child her father had been a rather nice looking boy, but she couldn't see how someone could make such a drastic change.

She entered the kitchen, which smelled strongly of stale beer. Empty bottles that once held the substance lay strewn across the counters and floor. Her mother sat at the table staring with tear filled eyes out the window. She turned and smiled at Julia as if nothing was happening. Trying to pretend her husband wasn't drinking again, but Julia knew otherwise. In fact, he'd left the prove on her face. A large bruise under her left eye. She had rather pretty blue eyes, Julia always wished she had gotten her mother eyes, rather than her hair. that wasn't the only thing she wished,she also wished her mother hadn't let go of the Nigel Uno boy her mother had told her about, or that she had taken that Herbie MayHence up on his offers for a date as a teenager. So many things her mother could go back and change that would make this horrible future nonexistent. She had told her mother this once, but her mother told her that then she wouldn't have her, but Julia would give upher life for her mother not to end up with that jerk everyone used to call Ace.

"Have you heard what people around town are saying?"

"Yes, I've heard," Lizzie Devine told her daughter.

"Everyone's saying it, Mom. Saying that he's a dangerous man, and..." Julia was trying once again to convince her mother to leave him.

"Julia, it's a small town, rumors spread like wildfire around here, it doesn't make them true," her mother reasoned. Julia didn't find that true, her father was a very dangerous man, in her opinion anyway.

She sighed, "I'm going to the fair, okay."

"Okay, be careful."

As Julia opened the door and left the house, she silently cursed her other for being so proud. Despite Julia's reasoning and everyone's talk, she still stood her ground, even though Julia felt, that she knew she was on the loosing end of the deal. As Julia pulled open her gate she heard her fathers shouts again. She cringed at the thought of his rage all targeted at her mother, but willed herself not to go back and get involved, for that helped no one, and only caused her lots of hurt. As she closed the gate she looked up at the house, she couldn't see anything, some people passing nearby whispered, Julia found this rather annoying and rude. If they were going to talk about her parents why not do it out loud, like the people across the street who were talking rather loudly about it.

But the whisperers and the talkers, and yes, even Julia, all had one thing in common: they all turned they're heads and looked the other way, as they headed for the fair. Little did they know, that when time ran out for Lizzie Vassi, there would be no one about, on the horrible Independence Day.

As Julia came up to the fair a man was on a stage talking into a microphone, and what he said caught every shred of Julia's attention, he said: "Let freedom ring! Let the white dove sing! Let the whole world know that today is a day of reckoning! Let the weak be strong! let the right be wrong! Roll the stone away, let the guilty pay, it's Independence day!"

Julia made her way through the crowd, looking at the booths and smiling. Then there where shouts and she turned to see what was happening. There were two men, they were in a brawl over something. The larger man of the two reared back and punched the other in the face, and Julia gasped.

**Vassi Home**

"Your a fool!" Ace was shouting as he grabbed up his wife and flung her across the kitchen.

**Fair**

The smaller man then grabbed hold of the other man around the knees and they were both on the ground. The bigger man straddled the smaller one and began pounding his head, again and again. Julia felt tears welling up in her eyes. Could this be happening at her home?

**Vassi Home**

Ace grabbed her again and flung her to the ground and straddled his wife. He reared back his arm and hit her across the face, taking a swig of his beer. He was shouting incoherently now, something about Lizzie being a horrible mother.

**Fair**

Two other men intervened and the fighting men were ripped apart. Police were on the scene now, asking the men questions. Julia was still standing in shock.

**Vassi Home**

Ace stood back up and glared at her. "Get up!" He yelled, taking another swig. Lizzie staggered to her feet and sniffed at him. He grabbed her arm and yanked her close to her face, opening his mouth as if to say something. Lizzie had to stop herself from gagging as he smelled strongly of stale beer and sweat. He closed his mouth and threw her against the wall. She hit it with great force, causing the picture's to fall and break across the floor. Then the man took another swig and staggered out of the room, leaving his wife in a crumpled heap on the floor.

With tear-filled eyes, Lizzie dragged her self to her feet, and stumbled over to the counter. She opened a drawer and pulled out a box of matches. She collapsed back to the floor and one of the matches. She held it up and stared at it. Then she whispered, "I'm sorry Julia."

**Fair **

Julia suddenly felt that something was very wrong, she turned and began pushing through the crowd. No sooner did she get out of the fair grounds than she saw the police begin rushing to their cars and taking off. She looked to the sky as she began to smell smoke. Sure enough there was a black cloud of smoke billowing into the sky, coming from somewhere in the direction of her home. Julia burst into a run full speed in the direction of the smoke, of her house, of her suffering mother, and her lunatic father. Praying that she was wrong. That it wasn't her home, but maybe a neighbors. Maybe her mother had gotten out somehow, she didn't care about her father, he could burn for all she cared, but not her mother. She hoped her mother wouldn't suffer like that.

As she got closer she saw the flames. Bursting high in the sky, and sending sparks flying like red and orange fireworks. She was still a couple blocks away. She pushed herself to run harder and in no time she was turning the last corner, only to stop in horror, as her worst fears were confirmed. She cried out as she sat there looking in on her worst nightmare come to life. For the flames reaching to the heavens were standing on her house to do it. She heard agonizing screams, someone was in pain, lots and lots of pain. At first she thought it was her mother, then she realized it was her father. Good, he deserved it, after all he put my mother through.

Where was her mother? Had she made it out? Was she okay? Was she already dead? The questions swirled around in her head liked an angry wind storm. She burst forward. No need to use the gate, no on else had. The fire engines had barreled right over their fence instead.

She screamed and came barreling over the flattened fence, shouting for her mother. "MOM!" even though, she knew deep down that her mother had started the fire. She certainly had lit the sky really well, that 4th of July.

A police officer grabbed her around the middle, holding her back and she shouted for her mother. He was talking to her. He was trying to comfort her, Julia realized. He was a fool, she wished he would go away. Instead, however, he took her to his cruiser a and locked her in. She watched the fire men put out the fire, tears still in her eyes. She fingered the locket around her neck as the officer took her to the police station and asked her some questions. She told him all about what her father did to her poor mother. She told him she knew it was her mother that lit the fire, but he insisted it was her father. He truly was a fool, why would her father have done it?

The man was staring at her now, as he handed her a glass of water. "If it was your mother, looking for vengeance, do you think she was right?"

The eight-year-old stared at the water for a moment then took a sip, and looked at the man, "It was my mother." She sighed. "I'm not saying it's right or wrong, but..." She paused as she met his eyes. "Maybe it was the only way." One thought crossed her mind then, "Let the guilty pay, it's Independence Day."

The next day they took her to the county home. The other children often asked her, "How did you get here?"

She always told them the story of her parents, about his abuse and her cracking point. About how her fireworks lit up the sky the most that 4th of July, and they always sat there gaping at her after she was through.

Strangely enough, every time she thought of her mother's suicide, the voice of the man at the fair came back to her: "Let freedom ring! Let the white dove sing! Let the whole world know, that today is the day of reckoning! Let the weak be strong! Let the right be wrong! Roll away the stone, let the guilty pay, it's Independence Day!"

**I know what your thinking, "What kind of tribute is that, Divachick?" Allow me to correct myself then, it's an Independence Day story. **

**Sorry if your a Ace/Lizzie fan, but I'm not fond of the pairing. I think Lizzie belongs with Herbie and Ace belongs with Henrietta :D **

**Anywhoo, so PLEASE review, because my reviewers are my favorite people :D  
**


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